Building a Horse Barn

Having a horse is unlike having a pet animal in your household. Horses need bigger spaces for them to move freely, as well as enjoy access to the great outdoors for their daily dose of exercise and physical activity. When raising a horse, you will definitely have to prepare the horse shelter – the barn.

Preliminary Considerations

Like any other construction projects, you need to check the building code in the area. Inspect the location to know if it suits the unique characteristics of your horse. Furthermore, check the local land use policies and guidelines if you can make significant changes in the landscape. Lastly, check your budget because building a barn takes more financial resources than your ordinary animal house project.

Barn Essentials

All barns need to have the basic setup primarily intended for the protection and care of your horses. At the minimum, you will need the following:

Several stalls where your horses can rest and sleep

A few storage facilities for your horses’ hay, and beddings

An area for bathing and grooming your horses

A dedicated and completely secured feed room

A well-built fence surrounding a vast green pasture

Direct Trades Supply recommends the use of products designed to confine animals without causing any fence-related injury, without barbs or protruding wires. The materials should adhere to animal safety standards.

Layout Planning

Once you have decided on the type of barn essentials, now is the time to consider the general layout of your barn. Although there are no strict guidelines as to what constitutes a well-designed barn, you need to consider the following:

There should be enough room for you and your horses to move about. Barn aisles should be at least 4 meters in width.

Good and adequate ventilation is required to promote optimum equine health. You can install exhaust fans on the barn roof or ceiling fans in addition to vent-style windows.

You need adequate lighting; preferably use natural light like that coming from windows and skylights.

Non slip flooring is essential to prevent fall-related injuries; asphalt or rubber pavers are excellent for aisle flooring. Stall flooring can have gravel as a base, and then topped with clay or base rock.

There are service providers that offer assistance in designing and building barns. Many also design and build prefabricated barn parts to suit your horses’ every need.